Luang Prabang, Laos.

Firstly, apologies for the lack of content; our wifi in the hostel we stayed in was next to useless!
After our slightly surreal trip into Luang Prabang, I was a little apprehensive about how we would find it. We arrived at our hostel at 7am, where I promptly slept until 12. We spent the afternoon getting our bearings, strolling down along the Mekong river in the sun. It was then that we realised we loved this place. The French architecture, views across the water and chilled-out vibe that the city has, was exactly what we needed after the 14 hour trip.

On our first full day in Luang Prabang, we decided to explore the city and some of temples that it has to offer. The most notable of these was at the top of Mount Phusi, a hill situated in the centre of Luang Prabang which has both a temple and monastery located on top. The views from the top were so stunning that we ended up going both early that afternoon, and for sunset. We also managed to have a walk around the night market, which is one of the best we have seen so far due to its variety and authentic goods. It’s safe to say that I spent a little more than I should have!

Our second day in Luang Prabang was a lot more active, as we had booked transport to take us both to some caves and Kuang Si Waterfall; two attractions which we have heard repeated by both locals, tuk-tuk drivers and tourists alike. We took an hour and a half slow boat along the Mekong river to get to the caves in the morning and got 40 minutes to explore the caves and their Buddhist shrines inside. This was plenty of time, as there wasn’t as much to see as I was expecting. The afternoon at the waterfalls was breathtaking (more on that in the next post) and we arrived back in Luang Prabang for around 18.30.

We spent our last night having dinner and drinks in Utopia, a restaurant and gardens which has become a haven for backpackers. In the evening it is a romantic setting overlooking to river with oil lamps and fairy lights. It’s safe to say that we were disappointed to be leaving the next day!